Vehicle:
2000 Ford E-150 with 5.4 V8

Issue:
After the van has been running awhile and heats up, if it is shut off it will not crank to start back up, until it cools down. The time before it will crank again is longer on hotter days. Once cooled down, it will crank and start.

During the time that it WILL NOT start, when you turn the key to ignition on, the lights and radio will come on, and they temporarily go off as they should when you turn the key to crank, however no crank occurs.

What I have Done:

Replaced the Starter and Solenoid TWICE with parts from Advance Auto Parts

Replaced the Battery

Replaced the entire Wiring harness from Starter to Solenoid to Battery with Ford OEM wiring harness.

Replaced a PCM relay ( Cannot locate an ignition fuse or relay)

The questions I have:

Is there a fuse or relay specific to the ignition, if so where is it? There is not one labeled in the fuse box/panel or the manual.

Where is the ignition switch at, and could this be the issue given the symptoms?

Is there something that I am missing? I am being told advance auto parts are junk and that could be my issue. i fail to think that 2 of them are reporducing the same issue as the very beginning.

Any thoughts or help I would be thankful. This is my Aunts delivery van and I am trying to get it back up quickly.

 

Please tell me you figured it out. I have the exact same issue currently and have done everything you listed except the pcm relay

 

This should not be too difficult to chase down. You will at the least need a simple test light. Do you have or can get hold of one to use ? You can also use a multimeter, but most folks don't have them available.

We will verify where we have power and where we don't. Before spending any more $$ replacing good parts , I would consider investing in a decent test light because you can check fuses easily without removing them for one thing and you know how this goes, once you have one, you may not need it again for quite a while.

We should be able to guide you with the procedure and hopefully save you some extra work and $$.

Can you do this?

 

OP posted years ago so I don’t know if they will reply but I am having the exact same issues on my 97 econoline. I have the test light and it seems all of the fuses are good. What next?

 

When you turn the key to the start position, power from the ign sw located on the inside of the vehicle at the lower part of the steering column is directed to the neutral safety sw on the trans (if automatic) or the clutch safety sw then down to the small terminal of the starter relay, then once the relay closes, battery power is applied directly to the solenoid on the starter and the starter motor should operate.. This path can be verified with a test light showing power at each location and where it is absent is where you need to find out why. Let us know if you need further assistance, thanks.

 

Ok I had to find someone to help me With cranking the vehicle. Currently these results are from a cold engine with the vehicle cranking. I’ll repeat these tests with a hot engine to see if anything changes. The top picture is of the solenoid under the hood and the bottom is of the starter under the car. The posts circled in blue turns on the test light when the car is off and on however on the solenoid under the van that is attached to the starter they turn off once the van is running. The posts circled in red only turn on during ignition and cut off. The green circle doesn’t turn on or off at all. I’m guessing it’s a ground wire.


I

 

Wait it does light up. I think I might have had the ground for the test light in a bad spot cause it does light up on the solenoid on the starter When it’s running.